Michelle 'Mace' Curran

So initially I did not have a mentor and I did not seek one out when I should have. When I was in that part of my career where I was really new and everything felt very overwhelming, I also felt like I had to prove myself in this new culture that I didn't really naturally fit in with, being a little bit more reserved.

You've seen Top Gun and the personalities portrayed on there are very type A, in-your-face, confident, bordering on arrogant in the movie, but... And that's the arrogance part isn't really true, but the confidence part is true. And I just didn't feel like I naturally fit into that. And so one of the big ways that I dealt with that is I did not want to show weakness. I did not want to ask for help.

You've seen Top Gun and the personalities portrayed on there are very type A, in-your-face, confident, bordering on arrogant in the movie, but... And that's the arrogance part isn't really true, but the confidence part is true. And I just didn't feel like I naturally fit into that. And so one of the big ways that I dealt with that is I did not want to show weakness. I did not want to ask for help.

You've seen Top Gun and the personalities portrayed on there are very type A, in-your-face, confident, bordering on arrogant in the movie, but... And that's the arrogance part isn't really true, but the confidence part is true. And I just didn't feel like I naturally fit into that. And so one of the big ways that I dealt with that is I did not want to show weakness. I did not want to ask for help.

I had to prove myself. And so it's very difficult to find a mentor and develop a deep relationship with anyone when you're afraid to be vulnerable with anyone in any of your peers, anyone in your career field. Um, as I got into it a couple of years, I started to find other women, other female fighter pilots.

I had to prove myself. And so it's very difficult to find a mentor and develop a deep relationship with anyone when you're afraid to be vulnerable with anyone in any of your peers, anyone in your career field. Um, as I got into it a couple of years, I started to find other women, other female fighter pilots.

I had to prove myself. And so it's very difficult to find a mentor and develop a deep relationship with anyone when you're afraid to be vulnerable with anyone in any of your peers, anyone in your career field. Um, as I got into it a couple of years, I started to find other women, other female fighter pilots.

The community is so small that we kind of seek each other out when we end up in the same country or city together. And so there were four of us. Masao, Japan was where I was first stationed. So way up North in Japan, where they get a ton of snow, very isolated. There ended up being four of us. And Two of the women there were further along in their careers than I was.

The community is so small that we kind of seek each other out when we end up in the same country or city together. And so there were four of us. Masao, Japan was where I was first stationed. So way up North in Japan, where they get a ton of snow, very isolated. There ended up being four of us. And Two of the women there were further along in their careers than I was.

The community is so small that we kind of seek each other out when we end up in the same country or city together. And so there were four of us. Masao, Japan was where I was first stationed. So way up North in Japan, where they get a ton of snow, very isolated. There ended up being four of us. And Two of the women there were further along in their careers than I was.

They had already been doing this for five, six years at that point. And they kind of started to take me under their wing. And once I got to a point where I felt like I could actually confide in them. And I looked up to them. They were instructors. They were well-respected. And I started to realize that all of those things I was dealing with, I wasn't the only one that they had felt the same way.

They had already been doing this for five, six years at that point. And they kind of started to take me under their wing. And once I got to a point where I felt like I could actually confide in them. And I looked up to them. They were instructors. They were well-respected. And I started to realize that all of those things I was dealing with, I wasn't the only one that they had felt the same way.

They had already been doing this for five, six years at that point. And they kind of started to take me under their wing. And once I got to a point where I felt like I could actually confide in them. And I looked up to them. They were instructors. They were well-respected. And I started to realize that all of those things I was dealing with, I wasn't the only one that they had felt the same way.

And so just realizing that I was not unique in those struggles was very empowering. So that definitely helped. And as I got further into my career, I realized the power of finding those people that can help guide you.

And so just realizing that I was not unique in those struggles was very empowering. So that definitely helped. And as I got further into my career, I realized the power of finding those people that can help guide you.

And so just realizing that I was not unique in those struggles was very empowering. So that definitely helped. And as I got further into my career, I realized the power of finding those people that can help guide you.

And now, I mean, I would not have made the leap from being active duty military for my entire adult life to being an entrepreneur without so many people being willing to take calls for me and answer what are probably dumb questions and just, you know, mentor me along the way. So it's such a valuable resource. And I wish I would have realized that sooner.

And now, I mean, I would not have made the leap from being active duty military for my entire adult life to being an entrepreneur without so many people being willing to take calls for me and answer what are probably dumb questions and just, you know, mentor me along the way. So it's such a valuable resource. And I wish I would have realized that sooner.

And now, I mean, I would not have made the leap from being active duty military for my entire adult life to being an entrepreneur without so many people being willing to take calls for me and answer what are probably dumb questions and just, you know, mentor me along the way. So it's such a valuable resource. And I wish I would have realized that sooner.

If you're anything like me, you are too busy doing 800 different things in a day to sit around and think about how you can improve your life. But there are some simple things that you can do that make a huge difference. I mean, let's stop and think about having the right undergarments. They make a huge difference.